Stay
by FaithinBones
Summary: "Booth, stay home today." Brennan wanted one more day to enjoy his company without outside agencies interfering with their lives. (Season 10)
1. Chapter 1

(The Lance to the Heart)

seeleybooths made a request for a fanfic. I hope this is what you wanted.

I don't own Bones.

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It had been a bad week and maybe not to put too fine a point on it, it had been awful summer.

After he had been attacked in his own home, after a stay in the hospital, Booth was locked up in prison and Brennan knew that his life would be in danger while he was there. As the weeks wore on and Booth had become bruised and battered, she realized that it was just a matter of time before someone killed him and that was unthinkable. Desperate to get him out of there, she'd done the only thing she could do. She'd blackmailed Federal Prosecutor Kevin Brady much to the attorney's shock and ultimately his terror.

Out of prison, Booth had been furious that she'd shown their hand. By getting him out through blackmail, she'd let the people involved in the conspiracy know that they had Wesley Foster's files and that meant they needed to push and push hard to find out who was in charge of the conspiracy before they found a way to stop them.

Things had got worse before it got better. Lance Sweets was murdered and died before Booth and Brennan's eyes. They had both been devastated by the loss of their friend, but they'd continued their investigation and in the end Dr. Glenn Durant had been arrested for numerous crimes including murder and treason.

After it was all over, after Sweets ashes had been scattered to the winds in an emotional farewell, Brennan had had time to think about everything that happened in the last few months and realized that she had come very close to losing Booth three times in a very short stretch of time.

The first time, she had been able to save his life by being at their house and she had been able to call an ambulance to take him to a hospital after he'd been shot. The second time, Booth was badly beaten and Brennan knew that it was only a matter of time before someone killed him, so she had used bribery to get him out of prison. The third time, Lance Sweets went to Sanderson Chemicals to serve a warrant instead of Booth, it was related to an experimental drug used to kill Howard Cooper and he had been murdered.

Afterward, when she'd had a chance to think about what they'd all gone through, Brennan realized that the only reason why Booth wasn't dead instead of Sweets was because Sweets had insisted on serving the warrant. It was possible that Booth might have survived the attack, but the assailant had been armed and dangerous, so it was possible that Booth being in a weakened condition would have been vulnerable. Sweets had died and her husband had not. Fate had played an ugly hand.

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The night of Sweets farewell, Brennan had held her husband close. She lay next to him and kept her arms around him. Her thoughts dark and foreboding, she had dreaded the thought of letting him leave her for even a short period of time. She knew she had to get her emotions under control and decided that she would give them free reign for one night and then she would put away those intense feelings and accept that Booth and she had to live their lives as normally as possible. The past was the past and they couldn't live there.

During the night, if Booth moved she moved with him. Even in her sleep, she touched him and held his arm or his hand. That night she needed to feel him, she needed assurances that he was really there in their bed, alive and well. When morning came, Brennan woke to find herself sprawled partially on top of Booth. He was awake and moving his fingers through her hair.

"So you're awake."

She knew he had massive bruises on his chest and sides and yet he held her without complaint. "I'm sorry, Booth. Let me move just a little." Brennan moved so that she no longer pressed against his bruises and yet she still was close enough to feel him against her body. "How are you feeling?"

Shifting on the bed, Booth moved his arm around her so that his wife could lay her head on his shoulder while he held his arm around her. "I'm fine."

The room was quiet except for the sound of the air conditioner running. As they lay in bed, comfortable in each other's company, both thought about a life without each other and they both knew that was unbearable.

"Booth, stay home today." Brennan wanted one more day to enjoy his company without outside agencies interfering with their lives. "I'll stay home too . . . I can call Max and ask him to keep Christine for one more day."

He heard the sorrow in her voice and he knew that he needed to give her what she wanted. "Sure . . . Bones, I . . . "

"Booth." Clinging fiercely to him, Brennan felt tears move down her cheeks. "Just lay here and let me hold you, Booth. I need to hold you . . . I need to feel you."

His own emotions high, Booth nodded his head and pulled her closer against his body, uncaring that his bruises were causing him pain. "I can do that Bones . . . you know when I was in prison, the only thing that kept me going was knowing that you and Christine and Parker were waiting for me and I had to come back. I had to come back to you. I promised you that I'd never leave you and I meant it. I knew I had to keep that promise."

Brennan's voice raw with emotion, she swallowed and tried to answer him. "I . . . I was afraid you . . . you wouldn't be able to keep that promise. I was afraid Booth . . . I couldn't bear the thought of never seeing you again."

Her tears splashing onto his bare shoulder, Booth cleared his throat and tried to assure her. "But I'm here now. I'm not going anywhere, Bones. I still expect to get those thirty or forty years. I want every one of them with you. I love you."

Tearfully, Brennan closed her eyes and relaxed in his embrace. "And I plan to make sure that happens, Booth. I will try to make that happen because I love you too."

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Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.


	2. Chapter 2

5546Laura and Kareneb requested another chapter of this story. I hope this is what you wanted.

I don't own Bones.

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Christine wasn't a clingy child, but since he'd been released from prison, the child cried every time Booth left the house. It broke his heart, but he wasn't sure what to do about it. Brennan was at a loss too. She had tried to explain to their daughter that her father was home for good and he would come back every time he left, but the little girl was not reassured.

Booth had intended to talk to Sweets about it, but his friend had been murdered before he could bring the subject up. The truth was, the situation grew even worse after Lance Sweets had been murdered. Explaining to Christine that her uncle had gone to heaven and was living with Pops had been the hardest thing he'd ever had to do. Once the conspiracy had been solved and Glen Durant and his stooges were on the hot seat and Booth was back at the FBI, Christine's anxiety seem to increase and she was afraid to see her father leave her sight.

It was times like this that Booth wondered if he was any good at parenting at all. His little girl was terrified that something was going to happen to him and he and Brennan were desperate to find a way to help her.

After staying home on a particularly bad day with his daughter, Booth decided to talk to her and see if she would give him the clues he needed to fix the problem.

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While they sat on the couch watching a movie, Booth handed his daughter a small bowl of popcorn and smiled. "This is good right? You and me watching 'Finding Nemo'. It's one of your favorite movies isn't it?"

Slowly munching on some popcorn, Christine nodded her head, her eyes on the TV screen.

Not sure how to broach the topic, Booth thought he'd just work his way around to it. "Nemo gets separated from his Daddy, but eventually they find each other." No reaction from his daughter, but he'd expected that. "His Daddy wasn't in danger. He was just in a different part of the ocean for a bit while he was looking for Nemo. Nemo's Daddy wasn't with Nemo, but he wanted to be and that's why he looked for his son until he found him. He really loves Nemo and Nemo really loves his Daddy."

The child stopped watching the television and turned her attention upon her father. "The bad men took Nemo and put him in a fish tank where his Daddy couldn't find him."

"That's right, it wasn't Nemo's fault that he couldn't be with his Daddy." Booth thought he might be able to work with that. "Nemo really wanted to be at home, so he found a way to go home, right?"

Her popcorn forgotten, Christine stared at her father. "Yes. He found his Daddy."

"And they went home and they lived happily ever after." Booth took the bowl from his daughter's hand and placed it on the coffee table. "Honey, I was like Nemo. I didn't leave home because I wanted to. Some bad men made me leave, but I got away from where they kept me and I'm back home now. Now we can have a happily ever after."

Nervously, Christine swallowed. "But what if the bad men come back and take you again? I don't want the bad men to take you again, Daddy."

Cautiously, Booth pulled his daughter on to his lap and placed his arm around her. "Those bad men that took me from you can't ever do that again, Honey. They're being punished for doing what they did. Now I'm home with you and Mommy and I'm never going to be taken from you again. Do you understand? When I go to work, I'm going to come back to you and Mommy. Nothing is going to keep me away from you."

"You were like Nemo and Nemo found his Daddy like you found me and Mommy." Christine was hopeful that she was right.

Booth saw the look on his daughter's face and he knew he must be making an impression on her. "Yes, that's right. I was like Nemo and now I'm home . . . And in the movie, Nemo's Daddy wasn't afraid to let him play or go to school anymore because he knew that no matter what happened they would always find each other if they got separated."

Slowly nodding her head, Christine placed her small hand in his big hand. "Because you're brave like Nemo and you wouldn't let the bad people keep you."

His throat a little tight, Booth nodded his head. "Yeah, no one can keep me from you and your Mommy, Baby. I will always come home."

His words made sense to her and Christine smiled for the first time since her uncle had been killed. "Okay, Daddy." Turning her head, the little girl stared at the movie and noticed Dory talking to Nemo. "Dory is a nice friend. She helped him."

Booth looked at the TV and smiled. "Yeah, Dory is a very nice friend. Nemo really needed a friend and she came through for him."

"Gill is nice too, he helped Nemo escape too." Christine turned to look at her father. "I like that Gill helped Nemo."

Rubbing her back, Booth knew that Christine was calmer. "Yeah, Nemo had a lot of friends and they helped him when he needed it just like Daddy did. Daddy has a lot of friends that will always help him when he needs it and Baby, I will always help you when you need it. Mommy and me are here for you and don't forget the rest of your family. Uncle Jack and Aunt Angela and Aunt Cam love you very much."

As she leaned against her father, Christine smiled. "I love you Daddy."

"I love you too, Honey." Booth probably knew that he might have to have this conversation several times before Christine was completely assured that it was safe for him to leave the house, but this was a start and that's all he needed. "Hey when Mommy comes home I'll make us some grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. How does that sound?"

Her eyes bright, Christine grinned at her father. "Oh Boy, I love grilled cheese sandwiches."

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Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.

A/N: I definitely don't own 'Finding Nemo'.


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